Rwanda has consistently maintained that the FDLR, a terrorist group founded by perpetrators of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, poses a direct threat to its security, prompting Kigali to maintain defensive measures along its border with the DRC.
Security analysts say the latest announcement by Kinshasa appears intended to create the impression that the FDLR issue has been resolved, despite concerns that the group continues to strengthen both militarily and politically.
On July 28, 2026, DRC's Minister for Regional Integration, Floribert Anzuluni, and government spokesperson Patrick Muyaya announced that the FDLR had agreed to lay down its arms, arguing that Rwanda should now withdraw its defensive measures.
The announcement came after Anzuluni visited several African and European countries, where he reportedly shared a proposal prepared by the FDLR and signed by its president, Victor Byiringiro, on May 30, 2026.
'In line with the Washington Accords and the accompanying CONOPS [Concept of Operations ], the FDLR has signed a protocol for disarmament, demobilisation and cantonment through sensitisation,' Muyaya said.
The FDLR issue has been central to negotiations between Rwanda and the DRC, from the Luanda process to the Washington talks.
Rwanda has maintained that once the group is dismantled, it will remove the defensive measures it has put in place. However, no operation to dismantle the group has begun.
Responding on July 29, Amb. Nduhungirehe said the agreement announced by the DRC bears no relation to either the Washington Peace Agreement signed on June 25 or its implementation framework adopted on December 4, 2025.
'The signing of this so-called 'protocol' between the father [the Congolese government], the son [the FDLR], and the evil spirit [genocide ideology] is in no way consistent with the Washington Agreements, which make no provision for it. … the genocidal FDLR is not a party to those agreements; rather, it is the subject of them.'
He also reminded the DRC that the Washington Peace Agreement required it to dismantle the FDLR within 90 days, arguing that Kinshasa had failed to meet that commitment and that the latest initiative was intended to distract from, and delay, implementation of the agreement.
The minister further accused the DRC of increasing military cooperation with the FDLR since the implementation framework was signed on December 4, 2025, including integrating members of the group into the Congolese army and reinforcing its political structure.
